Where is the government’s humanity? The lives and welfare of our children matter – Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

November 30, 2018 (Ottawa, ON) – The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is disenchanted and angered with the continued exclusion of off-reserve and non-status Indigenous children by the Government of Canada.

Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott announced today she would be working with National Indigenous Organizations to co-develop legislation to hand over control of the child welfare services to Indigenous governments. This is a positive step forward in Indigenous leadership protecting our children from a broken system that has perpetuated the crisis for communities and their children, but only for some. Regrettably, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples was not invited to this press conference and had repeatedly been excluded from conversations with Indigenous Services Canada on child welfare reform.
“We have made every effort to work with this government to ensure off-reserve and non-status children are included, but unfortunately the current government has ignored our concerns”, says National Chief Robert Bertrand, “we have not been able to secure meetings with the Minster or engage with the department on this critical issue. In our view, this leaves the majority of Indigenous children left out and at risk.”
“This government continues to ignore and assimilate our people by excluding us from policy and funding that affects our members, ” exclaimed President and Chief Lisa Cooper of the Native Council of Prince Edward Island. “They are failing First Nations, non-status, Inuit, and Métis children living off-reserve: the most vulnerable population with a high representation in the child welfare system are being denied essential services”.

The 2016 Supreme Court of Canada’s unanimous decision in Daniels v. Canada was a landmark victory for CAP giving clarity that Métis and non-status Indians fall under the federal government’s jurisdiction and fiduciary duty. As stated in the Daniels decision, “[Métis and non-status Indians] are deprived of programs, services and intangible benefits recognized by all governments as needed.” This duty extends to child welfare and all Indigenous children should have access to services as needed.
“Where is the government’s humanity? the lives and welfare of our children matter.” concludes National Chief Bertrand. “If this Government truly sought to help Indigenous families, they would be working alongside all Indigenous Organizations to ensure Canada is a safe and prosperous place for all our children, not just some. This continued marginalization of non-status and off-reserve peoples means our children are falling through the cracks and that a broken system remains broken.”
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The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is the national voice representing the interests of Métis, status and non-status Indians, and Southern Inuit Indigenous People living off-reserve. Today, over 70% of Indigenous people live off-reserve.